Unison trade union members at universities across the UK voted 62% in favour of strike action after rejecting the employers' final offer of 2% (with slightly higher increases for the lowest paid of up to 2.7%).

Unison, GMB and Unite members in East Dunbartonshire council took four days of coordinated strike action at the end of June against the Tory and Lib Dem administration's cuts programme - including a major assault on workers' terms and conditions.

In an outstanding example of how privatisation in the NHS is not inevitable, striking workers in Wigan have forced their NHS trust to drop all plans for outsourcing cleaning, catering and domestic services.

The fact that 87% of voting members in GMB, one of the smaller health unions, rejected the deal shows what could be achieved had there been a united campaign to reject. Instead health unions have signed off for three years just as other public sector workers are gearing up to fight.